Welsh composer expresses yearning in piece Butler orchestra will perform
Katie Jenkins travels from her home in New York City to her home country of Wales several times a year — a routine she has maintained since she moved stateside about eight years ago.
She distilled the feeling of yearning and homesickness for Wales into a symphony piece that features calling cards of Welsh music. After the New York Repertory Orchestra commissioned the piece, which debuted May 15, the Butler County Symphony Orchestra will play the piece for the second time ever on Saturday, Feb. 7.
Jenkins, who will participate in a pre-concert lecture Saturday, said the piece gets its title from a Welsh word, “Hiraeth.” The word doesn’t have a true corresponding English translation, but Jenkins said its meaning describes a blend of “homesickness, nostalgia and a deep longing for one’s homeland or something lost.”
“It sort of evokes this word for nostalgia, yearning, wanting to be in a place where you're not,” Jenkins said. “I did have that word in mind, missing family, but always battling with the fact that I was doing well in New York and wanted to continue that trajectory.”
The orchestra’s concert will present “a vibrant melting pot of music spanning 132 years, all composed in the United States.” “Voices of America: From Within and Afar,” features Grofé’s “Mississippi Suite” and Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 9,” in addition to Jenkins’ piece and another song by contemporary composer Valerie Coleman.
The symphony orchestra’s conductor, Moon Doh, asked to use Jenkins’ piece after the two had worked together playing for Shaggy in Pittsburgh, according to Jenkins.
She said the theme of yearning for another place weaved into her composition fits the overall theme the orchestra is going for at its upcoming show because it takes listeners on a journey. Jenkins incorporated a harp intro to the piece, because the harp is the national instrument of Wales, and she included “unique instrument pairings,” like the piccolo and contrabassoon, to add movement to the piece.
Jenkins said she channeled the internal struggle she went through after attending Juilliard School: Would she decide to return home to Wales or continue her career in music in the U.S.? She said these feelings are imbued into the song, but people can enjoy its music even if they don’t get all the subtext.
“I think most of my orchestral music has meaning to it, some kind of story,” Jenkins said. “Whether the audience takes away exactly what I meant doesn't matter too much. I just want them to feel something.”
Voices of America: From Within and Afar, begins at 7:30 p.m. at Butler Intermediate High School, 551 Fairground Hill Road, Butler Township. For more information, visit the orchestra’s website at butlersymphony.org.
